Chemical composition of germinating Tunisian almond (Prunus Amygdalus Mill.) seedlings oil

Abstract

Almonds (Prunus amygdalus) are a rich source of many essential nutrients. However, there is a lack of enough information on almond varieties' biochemical composition, especially at the germination stage. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the chemical components of the germinating Tunisian almonds. The study included determining the content of oils, proteins, fatty acids, and triglycerides during germination. Results indicated that the oleaginous seeds are rich in oil (55 to 65% of the dry mass) and crude protein (21.825 mg/mL). The dominant polyunsaturated fatty acids are oleic and linoleic acids which represent 64.53% and 24.38%, respectively, while palmitic acid is the most dominant saturated fatty acid with 7.65% of the total fatty acids. Also, the primary molecular types of triglycerides detected by L.C. analysis are triolein (32.3%) and dioleolinolein (24.0%), followed by palmitodiolein (12.5%) and oleodilinolein (12.6%.). The physico-chemical properties study revealed that almond oil remains stable, thus preserving its quality and nutritional value, even during transition from dormancy to germination. On the other hand, we also detected the presence of a lipolytic activity which is maximum on the 3rd day of germination (4.66 mUI). Our results indicate that almond oil plays an important role in human nutrition due to the presence of unsaturated fatty acids, and it is more stable than other oils.